Murray races to victory over Rola

Time was of the essence for Andy Murray as he posted his most emphatic win at Wimbledon to reach the third round.

The defending champion was in sublime form on Court One, needing just an hour and 24 minutes to see off Slovenian Blaz Rola 6-1 6-1 6-0.

Murray had never previously dropped fewer than six games in a match at the All England Club, while it was his most one-sided result at a slam since losing just one game to Alberto Martin at the Australian Open in 2007.

Murray has yet to lose his serve this tournament after a comfortable win over David Goffin in round one, saving all five break points he has faced.

The third seed appears to have learned the lessons from the French Open, when he was kept on the court longer than he should have been in a succession of matches after failing to kill off opponents when he had the chance.

Murray said: "You try to finish matches as quickly as you can. If you have the momentum with you and you're playing well, that's what you need to try to do.

"I spoke a little bit about the French Open a few weeks ago, some of the matches where I was ahead, I didn't finish the sets and stuff off as best as I would have liked.

"So I wanted to make sure here that when I had the momentum, when I was on top, that I finished the sets off. I did that well today."

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Murray next meets 27th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who is through to the third round at the All England Club for the first time.

The Scot only dropped three sets on his way to the title last year, but might easily have lost in the quarter-finals when he trailed by two sets to love against Fernando Verdasco.

"You're going to get tested during the tournament," said Murray.

"Sometimes that happens in the first round, and sometimes it can happen in the semi-finals. It can happen at any moment in the tournament. You just have to be ready for it and expect it before every single match.

"I go into each match expecting to lose serve, expecting to go behind, so your mind is ready and you don't get too down on yourself if that happens.

"I'm happy to come through matches as quickly as possible, but you're going to get tested at some stage. Obviously the further you go in the draw, the tougher the matches are going to get."

Like Goffin, Rola was a first-time opponent for Murray, who was watched by the Duchess of Cornwall.

The world number 92 was playing in the main draw of a grand slam for only the third time and was no doubt disappointed not to have been given an outing on Centre Court.

Left-hander Rola had lost twice to British number three James Ward in the last month, at the French Open and Queen's, so was not expected to trouble Murray.

But the mauling he received was surely worse than the 23-year-old Slovenian would have envisaged.

Murray was on his game from the start, and broke serve immediately when Rola played a nervous first game.

From 2-1 the Scot won nine games in a row and then finished off the match with a sequence of seven straight games.

Every facet of Murray's game worked well, and the 27-year-old teased Rola with his combination of power, precision and touch.

Murray had no time to sympathise with the brutal way Rola's Wimbledon debut ended, saying: "Y ou just try to win the match.

"You put a lot of hours of practice and hard work, training, all the stuff you do in the gym, for these tournaments. It hurts a lot of the time.

"When you are in a position to win a match like that, you have to try and do it as quickly as possible, because all of the players in this tournament are very, very good tennis players.

"If you give them a look-in in a set or they see a way back in, they can start playing very well. You just try to keep it going."

Murray, meanwhile, would have no problem with Aljaz Bedene becoming part of Britain's Davis Cup team.

Rola's Slovenian countryman is in the process of applying to become a British citizen and could be eligible for Britain's first World Group tie of next season in March.

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The news has been met with mixed opinions, with British number two Dan Evans making it clear he does not believe Bedene should be allowed to play for Britain having already represented Slovenia.

Murray said: "I don't really mind, to be honest. The rules are there. I don't make the rules. I f he becomes a British citizen and is able to play, then I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to do it."

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